NSRA Street Rod Nationals Plus - Top 100 Selections

For the Top 100 program, STREET RODDER attends 10 selected car shows each year and picks 10 vehicles at each to make up the Top 100. For more on where those shows are and how they're voted on, check Street Rodder's Top 100.

The seventh stop of ten events this year where STREET RODDER picks 10 cars (thereby gathering a total of 100 cars from the 10 shows) is the base from which the magazine staff will pick its Street Rod of the Year. The most recent occasion of this was the assembly of hot rods and show cars in Louisville, Kentucky, at the NSRA's Street Rod Nationals Plus event.

2/11

Robert Cox
Ft. Smith, AR
1955 Chevy Bel Air

Robert Cox brought his '55, covered in a custom-mixed PPG red, to the Nats from his home in Arkansas. The Tri-Five, sitting on a Roadster Shop chassis, is powered by a 572-inch big-block Chevy, which hooks to a 4L80E tranny running back to a Heidts IRS. The dark saddle interior came from Cars Interiors.

3/11

Gary McCormick
E. Peoria, IL
1932 Ford coupe

Subtle is probably the best way to describe Gary McCormick's ride. The Chevrolet Performance ZZ4-powered three-window was brought to Louisville by McCormick and built by Everett and Chuck Gray of Gray's Garage in Metamora, IL. The wheels on the all-steel coupe come from Wheel Smith.

4/11

Steve & Sheri Tracy
Gallatin, TN
1940 Chevy Cabriolet

Steve and Sheri Tracy brought out their '40 Chevy cabriolet covered in red and powered by a collector's V-8: a ZZ430, which features lots of brightwork by Advanced Plating. The Tracys have owned the car for the past 25 years and had to have it refurbished after it was caught in the destructive 2010 flood in Nashville.

5/11

Joe & Josh Bailey
Maryville, TN
1956 Chevy 210 two-door hardtop

Joe and Josh Bailey spent years working on this '56 and the homebuilt effort was clearly worth it. The PPG black is sprayed over the Tri-Five sheetmetal that rests on a silver firewall and inner sheetmetal. They stitched their own lipstick red interior, which spotlights the '65 Impala-style seating. The car's heartbeat comes through a 454 with twin four-barrels and shifted via a five-speed on the way back to a Ford 9-inch rearend.

6/11

Mike & Jeremy Bach
Belleville, IL
1931 Plymouth roadster

From the "dare to be different" group, Mike and Jeremy Bach were on hand with their '31 Plymouth roadster. Much of the sheetmetal is stock, proving this piece of vintage tin had pleasing lines from way back. Power comes from a 318 Dodge backed to a 727 auto transmission.

7/11

Sean Black
Hartselle, AL
1932 Ford Tudor

The first time STREET RODDER readers saw Sean Black's '32 it was highlighted in the 2004 Nationals article as an unfinished project in the swap meet coverage. A new chassis with ASC 'rails was slipped under the Tudor, and a Magnum axle with split "bones" was used up front. A Currie 9-inch on Pete & Jake's ladder bars was used in the rear and power comes from a 355-inch small-block Chevy hooked to a 700-R4. Todd Ellen and the late Larry Holmes applied the bright PPG Hugger Orange finish while the chocolate leather interior was handled by M&M Hot Rod Interiors.

8/11

Neal East
Englewood, CO
1927 Ford Modified Roadster

A former STREET RODDER cover car (Sep. '98), Neal East's modified was nearly destroyed in an unfortunate accident. Darrel Zipp, the car's original builder, rebuilt it using the unique chassis that features an underslung front suspension and an IRS with a quick-change centersection. Under the one-piece race car–inspired nose and hood is a 300-inch aluminum V-8 hooked to a T-5 transmission. Inside the leather-lined cockpit is a pair of bucket seats and a '32-style dash filled with Classic Instruments. That cool teardrop trailer hauls all of East's essentials when the weather turns ugly.

9/11

Scott Shaffer
Hebron, OH
1930 Ford Sport Coupe/Roadster

Starting with a cut-up body that once was a Sport Coupe found on the Internet, six months after buying it Scott Shaffer had his Model A at the Street Rod Nationals. Roadster windshield stanchions were modified and grafted to the cowl, and a '37 Ford dash was also used. A shift lever from grain truck has been adapted to an S-10 five-speed that's behind a small-block Chevy wearing a half-dozen Holley 94 carburetors and vintage Edelbrock rocker covers. The upholstery consists of a vinyl-covered bench seat and little else (a '31 license plate on a hinge provides access to the underfloor master cylinder). When asked when the interior was going to be finished, the answer was an unapologetic: "It is finished."

10/11

David & Tawana Gilbert
Mena, AR
1934 Ford Tudor

David and Tawana Gilbert discovered this '34 Ford that had been in storage from 1951 to 2005. Original right down to the rare accessory glovebox clock, Bob Messig took the Tudor from stocker to street rod, which now rides on an N&N chassis with a Heidts Super Ride IFS. Underhood is a 400-horse 351 Ford Windsor, and gear changes are done automatically by a C6 transmission. The sedan rolls on Wheel Smith 17x7 and 18x8 wires, and Terry Holt handled the upholstery while Ritchie Hilton was responsible for the paint

11/11

Gary Stock
Bethalo, IL
1959 Chevrolet Brookwood

Wagons are cool, and Gary Stock's proves it. His rare two-door Brookwood has been given a two-tone treatment with Alabaster White on the top and Chrysler Crossfire Yellow below. Inside you'll find a tilt column from a Chevy van topped by a cut-down Impala steering wheel, an instrument panel filled with Dakota Digital gauges, and a Vintage Air unit hung below the dash. Underhood is an LS1 out of an '02 Pontiac Trans Am, backed to an overdrive automatic from the same donor. Wheels are from American with 17x7s up front and 20x8s in the rear.